Chapter 1

My name was Chloe Miller, the most unremarkable middle child in my family.

My older sister was a piano prodigy. My younger brother was the family's golden boy. My existence seemed to be solely for the purpose of highlighting their brilliance.

The doctor said I might not live to see my eighteenth birthday.

When I got home, Eleanor's face immediately darkened as she saw me. "What trick are you trying to pull now? Are you deliberately trying to ruin Seraphina's party?"

"Eleanor, I'm sick, very sick. The doctor said I'm dying..."

She snatched the paper from my hand and slapped it to the floor. "Dying? I think you're desperate for attention! How could I have given birth to such a lying daughter!"

To punish me, Richard locked me in the storage room.

Seven days later.

The storage room door was kicked open. Eleanor's curses filled the air: "Chloe Miller, do I need to beg you? Get out! This cake is even too disgusting for a dog to eat, but it's yours now!"

But Eleanor, the smell of decay was already so strong. Could you truly not smell it?

Your daughter was already rotting inside.